National Federation of the Blind and Verifone Collaborate to Make Taxicab Terminals Accessible

BALTIMORE, July 20, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the nation's leading advocate for accessible technology, and Verifone will work together to enhance the accessibility of Verifone's in-taxi technology for blind passengers by the end of this year, under an agreement that was recently reached by the two organizations. Verifone's in-taxi systems enable passengers to pay their cab fare with a credit or debit card and enjoy curated media content during taxi rides.

National Federation of the Blind logo

Currently, blind passengers can use the terminals by tapping the center of the screen to initiate an accessibility mode, which uses voice prompts to provide information about the fare and to guide the user through the payment process. Planned accessibility enhancements will include voicing information about the taxi's then-current location, as well as other improvements to the user interface. Additionally, Verifone and NFB will discuss the feasibility of making other new features accessible if and when they are introduced.

Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "Verifone has already done outstanding work to make its taxicab units accessible to blind passengers, and we are delighted to work with the company to improve the user experience even more. We commend Verifone for working with blind users to improve its systems and look forward to helping this great company set an even higher standard for accessibility in the taxicab industry."

Amos Tamam, Senior Vice President of Taxi Systems for Verifone said: "We are committed to providing a great experience for all users of our technology. We are delighted to work with the National Federation of the Blind to make sure that our systems are usable and accessible to blind taxicab passengers."

The NFB raised its accessibility concerns to Verifone, and the parties quickly began effective collaboration to resolve these concerns. The negotiations were facilitated on behalf of the NFB by the law firms of LaBarre Law Offices; TRE Legal; Clark, Hunt, Ahern & Embry; and Disability Rights Advocates.

About the National Federation of the Blind

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.